


Power Play

by kethni



Category: Veep (TV)
Genre: Gen, past relationship, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 21:27:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10953051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kethni/pseuds/kethni
Summary: Selina always knew that sleeping with the help was a bad idea, but they weren't supposed to come back after you got them fired...





	Power Play

**Author's Note:**

> For Intronerd - thanks for the request!

Kent Davison. Kent fucking Davison! She couldn’t believe it. How did this happen? She had been _promised_ that she wouldn’t have to deal with him again.

‘It wasn’t that bad, Mom,’ Catherine protested. ‘I quite liked river rafting, and the nature walk. Remember we saw a wild cat?’ She smiled wistfully. ‘That was great.’

Selina glowered. ‘Well, what about the... the pig wrestling?’

Catherine pulled a face. ‘It was disgusting and the smell was awful.’

Selina slapped the desk. ‘Exactly! God, I’m amazed he didn’t make me do that.’

‘I was only judging it,’ Catherine said. ‘Um, you were at the deer hunt. Remember? I really didn’t want to go to that but you said I had to. Then Kent said I could judge the pig wrestling instead.’

Selina narrowed her eyes. ‘I think, Catherine, that I insisted you be able to do something else.’

‘That’s not how I remember it,’ Catherine said. She fidgeted in the heat of Selina’s glare. ‘Why do you care anyway?’

Selina sat back in her chair. ‘I kinda got him fired. He’s got a pretty big reason to screw me over.’

Catherine looked at her doubtfully. ‘Is this like the secret service guy who kept smiling?’

Selina groaned. ‘I didn’t fire the secret service guy. I had him reassigned. Totally different.’

‘But Kent Davison you fired?’

Selina played with her fork. ‘I didn’t fire him. Okay? He was Hughes’s numbers monkey not mine. I just... Asked for him to be fired. It’s no big deal.’

‘Okay,’ Catherine said.

‘Okay? It’s not okay! He’s gonna be pissed and he’s gonna want revenge. God! He could make all kinds of trouble right when I need all my friends.’

Catherine took out her cell. ‘But you said it wasn’t it a big deal.’

‘Not for me. It was a big deal for him.’ Selina’s face flashed with uncharacteristic guilt, but only for a second. ‘He was super pissed.’

Catherine covered her eyes with her hand. ‘You had him fired because you were sleeping with him.’

‘What? No! I had him fired because he had an attitude problem and it was distracting. We weren’t still sleeping together then.’

Catherine stared at her. ‘You had him fired because he dumped you? Wow, Mom. That is messed up. If a man did that to a woman, then you would be up in arms.’

‘No, I wouldn’t.’ Selina scowled at her. ‘This is politics. If you’re dumb enough to fuck someone higher up the food chain, then don’t be surprised when they chew you up and shit you out.’

Catherine shook her head. ‘Maybe you can apologise or at least appeal to, like, teamwork or something.’

Selina snorted. ‘Maybe I could’ve done that before I smashed him the eye with a lipstick. Don’t look at me like that! It was an accident.’

‘If he’s not out to get you then he’s some kind of saint,’ Catherine said.

‘Yeah,’ Selina sneered. ‘I think we know that’s not true.’

***

It had been sex, that was all. Great sex, admittedly. But just sex. They screwed when they could get away with it and stopped when people started asking question. A little while after, actually. Long enough after for there to be whispers, winks, and nudges. He hadn’t given a shit. Why would he? He was a post-middle-aged white guy from the right schools.

She just knew he hadn’t fought for anything. She was the one who had to fight to get a place at the table, to be taken seriously.

‘Ma’am, your stable called,’ Sue said. ‘Your horse has colic.’

‘Oh, Jesus,’ Selina groaned. ‘Which one?’

‘Beauty,’ Sue said.

Selina frowned. ‘I don’t even remember that one. Never mind. Uh, tell her to do whatever she thinks best.’

‘Yes, Ma’am.’ Sue made a note on her clipboard.

‘Did anything come through from POTUS about my outreach to inner city children?’ Selina asked.

Sue nodded. ‘He said no.’

Amy looked up from her tablet. ‘What do you mean, no? We had a soft yes from the West Wing on the roll-out.’

Sue raised an eyebrow. ‘You had a soft yes, Amy. Now you have a hard no.’

Selina planted her hands on her hips. ‘Who said no? Do we know who spiked it? Why am I even asking? It was Davison. I know it.’

‘We can work this out,’ Dan said to Selina. ‘We just need to get Davison on side.’

‘Jonah didn’t say who it was,’ Sue said.

‘Jonah!’ Selina narrowed her eyes. ‘Of course Jonah didn’t say. Jonah doesn’t know if it’s Wednesday or a week on Tuesday.’

‘It’s Friday,’ Gary murmured. He stepped back at her expression.

‘I could go talk to him,’ Dan offered. ‘I’m trying to work on building up some rapport.’

‘A snake and an alligator,’ Amy said. ‘That always ends _so_ well.’

Selina shook her head. ‘Amy’s right. He’s not gonna discuss policy with you. Asshole won’t talk to anyone below a congressman.’

Amy blinked. ‘I always found him quite –’

‘I’m gonna go talk to him,’ Selina said. ‘You don’t reason with snakes, you cut their fucking heads off.’

Mike winced. ‘This took kind of a dark turn.’

Amy shrugged. ‘Not if you want a snakeskin bag.’

Selina headed for the door.

‘Ma’am,’ Sue called. ‘Roger Furlong is waiting to see you.’

‘I’ll see him when I’ve finished cutting off Kent Davison’s balls. By the time I’m done he’s gonna sit up and beg on command.’

***

Selina found Kent leaving a meeting. He sighed when he saw her. Actually sighed.

‘Madam Vice-President,’ he said. ‘Are you lost?’

‘You’re so funny,’ she said, unsmiling. ‘I don’t know how you do it.’

He reached into his pocket. ‘I’m on my way to a meeting with POTUS.’

‘Great! I’ll come with you!’

Kent raised his eyebrows. ‘I wasn’t aware that new techniques in polling were of interest to you.’

‘Am I boring you?’ Selina asked. ‘Quit futzing with your cell.’

Kent frowned and put his cell away. ‘As you wish.’

Selina pushed the door to the meeting room open. ‘ln here.’

‘If I must.’

Selina slammed the door shut behind them. She stood only inches away from him. Glaring. Challenging him to back away.

He didn’t.

‘My inner-city outreach programme,’ she said.

He looked blank for a moment. Was she seriously supposed to believe he didn’t know what she was talking about?

‘Laptops for inner city schools,’ she said.

‘Oh. Yes?’

‘I know you fucking spiked it. So go un-spike it. Poor kids shouldn’t suffer because you got a problem with me.’

Kent looked down at her with undisguised distaste. ‘The depths of your self-involvement and paranoia are truly astounding.’

Selina sneered in his face. ‘You’re gonna deny it?’

‘I categorically deny it,’ he said. ‘I made no effort to “spike” your programme. As difficult as you will find this to hear, not everything is about you. I have other calls on my time.’

Selina took a step back. ‘I’m supposed to believe POTUS rejected it for some other reason. Like what? He suddenly hates helping kids?’

Kent narrowed his eyes. ‘The cost was unacceptable.’

‘What?’ she demanded. ‘That is total bullshit. The cost of the laptops is easily covered by the existing budget provided we take the recycled laptops offered by the manufacturers.’

‘However, the insurance hikes that the schools would face isn’t,’ he said. ‘Inner city schools full of easily transportable electronics without signified improvements to security would quickly be denuded of them. You also failed to account for improvements to the electrical systems, the necessary internet access, the software needed both for schoolwork and to monitor that internet access. You only budgeted for the bright, shiny bauble.’

Selina gritted her teeth. ‘Don’t patronise me.’

‘Do your job better,’ Kent said.

‘Excuse me? Who the fuck are you talking to?’

‘To the person whose lazy and incomplete proposal has convinced POTUS that providing appropriate technology for inner city schools is a pipedream.’

‘You dick,’ she snarled. ‘Don’t lay that at my door.’

‘Naturally not. One cannot expect the majestic Selina Meyer to take responsibility for her actions.’

Selina smiled bitterly. ‘I fucking knew it. This is about me getting you fired.’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Is it?’

‘You were a fucking distraction! I got rid of you because after you decided you didn’t want to “risk your reputation” anymore by sleeping with me, you made it impossible for me to concentrate.’ Selina caught her breath. ‘I’m not going to apologise.’

‘I never for one moment thought that you would.’ He tilted his head. ‘Tell me, would I have been so “distracting” if I had continued sleeping with you?’

She shrugged. ‘It was never a problem when we were fucking.’

Kent nodded. ‘In essence then, you had me fired because I didn’t wish to sleep with you anymore.’

Selina snorted. ‘You wanted to. We both know that. Just like you’d fuck me right now if I said the word. Hell, maybe I’d even let you, if you got down on your knees and begged me.’

‘But that’s why?’

‘Sure, if you wanna wildly oversimplify. Who cares? This is now. Stay out of my way or I’ll run you down.’ She turned and walked to the door.

‘I think not,’ Kent said in a precisely measured tone.

‘What?’

He clasped his hands in front of him. ‘You told POTUS that if he did not terminate my employment then you would resign. A petty strategy and one quite unworthy of you. He couldn’t risk the embarrassment of your resigning immediately after the election. Here we are two years later and I am back. I would invite you to consider whether he is simply willing to call your bluff or actively hopes that you will make good on your threat.’

Selina clenched her jaw. ‘I know that fucker wants me gone.’

‘You would be wise to learn to play nicely with the other children, Selina,’ Kent said mildly.

‘You don’t get to call me Selina,’ she growled.

Kent took his cell out of his pocket and held it up: the microphone symbol on the voice memo app was glaringly prominent.

Selina felt the blood drain from her face.

Kent waggled it at her. ‘I have you admitting to having me fired because I wouldn’t sleep with you. I rather think that I can call you anything I please.’

She lunged for it. Kent held it above his head and his lip twisted in a sardonic smile.

‘Even if you could reach it, _Ma’am_ , it backs up automatically. It is, in every possible way, beyond your reach.’

Selina stepped back. She growled softly. ‘What do you want?’

Kent tucked his cell into his pocket. ‘There was some mention of begging on bended knee. Let’s start with that.’

The End


End file.
